And the Volt charges ahead
Ready to end your foreign oil dependence?Just got off a conference call with GM regarding the Chevy Volt. In a nutshell, everything is going great. After testing the Volt battery pack in essentially every type of weather and driving condition possible, all systems are go for the November launch. Still, a few notes did stick out.
First, 40 miles of EV range has been the average, although 20 percent variation in both directions is expected. Once in range extended mode, the Volt should still achieve about 50 mpg and offer a range of at least 300 additional miles beyond the original 40 miles of EV range.
Second, GM is forecasting a nice price reduction in battery costs by the second generation thanks to supply base efficiencies, and the third generation battery pack could see as much as a 50 percent reduction in cost.
Third, while GM seemed very careful on this issue, the future of the Volt could include a smaller battery pack and shorter EV range. Again, GM was very guarded on this point. Likewise, GM's Andrew Farah, the leader of the Volt program, claimed that new energy densities in lithium-ion technology might also provide the same 40 miles of EV range but in a smaller battery pack.
Nonetheless, my read in between the lines is that GM is increasing their Volt focus on costs, and I believe that if GM realizes that a 20 or 30 mile Volt would double sales, then they'd offer such an option by the third generation battery pack. Of course, such a battery pack is still several years away.
posted by Dahcredyns at
12:58 PM
3 Comments:
Most encouraging news Dahc.
There still is a glimmer of hope for the Volt and the possibility of it becoming profitable for less than $40K....
the possibility of it becoming profitable for less than $40K is target but i hope GM do well at this project.
I think it's more than a glimmer. Even if the Volt itself never becomes a top ten selling vehicle, it will drive GM in the right direction.
Likewise, as I covered in the post, I really do believe that GM is starting to crunch the numbers in a way that could result in different Voltec offerings that offer varying amounts of pure electric power.
Of course, maybe it's just my hope interfering in my judgment.
Nonetheless, I've had this conversation with Tony Posawatz, Volt vehicle line director, a few times, and he's indicated it's definitely an angle that GM has at least investigated. And, the new GM seems less interested in financial games and more interested in financial honesty.
Thus, if they've been following the lithium studies that continually demonstrate that smaller battery packs will be more cost-effective, then they have to be taking such derivatives seriously.
Post a Comment
<< Home